


Memories

by midnightninja14



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Bittersweet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 08:38:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11917200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightninja14/pseuds/midnightninja14
Summary: The Crystal was both a blessing and a curse for Noctis.





	Memories

**Author's Note:**

> For Noctis Week - Day 3: Treasured Memories

Young Prince Noctis was walking hand-in-hand with his dad down the halls of the Citadel, animatedly chattering about the book Ignis had read to him earlier. Noctis could see the sun shining brightly outside through the windows, their city as magnificent as always behind the glass. Cor and Clarus trailed behind the pair of royals, small smiles on both of their normally stoic faces as they listened along to Noct’s enthusiastic story.

“--And then! Then the hero beated the dragon and saved the world! It was so cool, Dad!” Noct looked up to Regis curiously. “Have you ever fighted a dragon, Dad?”

Regis chuckled, stopping to lift Noctis into his arms. “I believe you mean “beat” and “fought”, my son, and I’m afraid I haven’t. If any exist, I never came across them in my travels. I have, however, fought a Behemoth, and I daresay those are rather fearsome.”

“Whoa!” Noctis stared at the king, his expression shifting to one of confusion. “...What does fearsome mean? And what’s a Behemoth?”

“It’s a giant monster, Your Highness. And fearsome means scary,” Cor answered, smiling softly when Noctis turned to look at him.

“Giant? That means it’s super big! Is it bigger than the Regalia?”

“Much bigger.”

Clarus bit back a grin, schooling his expression into something more serious. “I’d say it’s more like having five Regalias on top of each other.”

“ _Five_  whole Regalias?!” Nocti gaped, his blue eyes wide as he stared at his dad. The little prince looked to his hand, visibly counting on his fingers. “That’s--that’s so many Regalias!!”

“Indeed, it is!” Regis laughed at the awe on his son’s face, hugging his child closer. “Speaking of the Regalia… how does a trip in it sound? There is a place in the city that sells the best ice cream, and a little bird told me that a certain prince has been desiring ice cream recently…”

“Oh, oh! Yes! Pleaseeee, can we go?”

Regis tickled Noct, delighting in the sound of his son’s laughter as it echoed in the corridor. “Of course, only the best for my son.”

With a gasp, Noctis opened his eyes. He took in the void around him that he was floating in, filled with color but devoid of people or noise besides his own breathing. He was alone.

And he remembered. Looking down, he saw his older body, no longer the boy he had been in the memory though it had felt so unbelievably real. Noct could still feel the warmth that had emanated from his father’s body, younger and _alive_ , could remember how it had felt to be carried in his dad’s protective embrace. He remembered how fond Regis’s eyes had been, how adoring his smile, how carefree his laughter.

The Crystal was both a blessing and a curse for Noctis.

Within it, he was allowed to reminiscence and go back in time, to _live_  in happier days. But he could never stay in those times, and he would always wake once more to the cold realization of his reality. His kingdom was in ruins, his father was _dead_ , his people were suffering--his _friends_  and Luna--Luna and Ravus had _died_. Reality was cruel and he could never truly forget that fact, and even within the Crystal he couldn’t escape those memories. Reflection wasn’t always kind, and every memory, even the ones that made his chest ache, even the ones that made him want to scream--they all were important despite the sadness that clung to them. The Marilith attack, the Fall of Tenebrae, all the difficult battles and heartbreaking losses faced along his journey, all of the suffering--he had seen it all again.

But perhaps the good times he was able to live through again outweighed the bad times. Within the Crystal, Noctis could find peace in the happy memories he treasured. Ones with his father before matters of the kingdom had eaten away at both his time and youth, ones with Luna and Ravus in Tenebrae before it had been burned to the ground, ones with his friends in easier times as they lived in the Crown City, and the fun times they had had on their adventure as they explored the world.

For a moment, he could escape the knowledge of his impending doom and the ever-constant anxiety that clawed at his chest, and he could find solace in the happy memories he found himself in. The Chosen King could be at peace, and the rare happiness he was able to feel due his treasured memories was something he considered precious. As his eyelids slowly slipped shut once more, another memory to reflect upon pulling him under, he found himself hoping for another kind memory to create a good dream.

He knew there would come a time where he would wake and no longer have to reflect. That would be when Noctis would be pushed onwards, towards his destiny as the King of Light, and the boy he had been when first entering the Crystal would be left behind. The naive prince who had left his home with no idea what his future would truly hold, the boy who still had hope for a better tomorrow that he would get to see. The boy who had believed he had enough time.

Time to spend with his father. Noctis was supposed to go back. His father and his kingdom weren’t supposed to _fall_ while Noct was away, Noct had believed--foolishly, _foolishly_  believed that everything would be fine. He had thought he would bring Luna back to the Crown City, that the treaty would bring about peace, that his father would _live_.

Time to spend with his friends. He thought that he would meet Luna again, and that they could finally talk face-to-face, that he could help her escape the Empire’s clutches and offer her freedom. He thought that he and the guys would have fun finally exploring the world, seeing what lay beyond the Wall of Insomnia, fighting and growing together. They were supposed to be heroes and have exciting adventures like Regis had had when he had explored the world with his friends. Noct thought that his trip would be like his father’s stories that he had adored as a child, the ones where Regis and his friends explored the world and defeated monsters, sounding exactly like a group of knights or brave heroes in a fairytale.

Noctis knew now that he had no time left, and he was no longer blissfully unaware of what the future had in store for him.

But at least, within the Crystal, he was sometimes allowed the peace to lose himself in a happy, treasured memory. The world would have to wait, but the day would come where he would wake to save it.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this pretty quickly tbh, maybe i'll go back to it sometime! ;;;;; 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! :D
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://midnightninja14.tumblr.com) here!


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